Customer Estimates and Bids!!

As I am still just getting in to the business of lawn care. I still have a few questions.

1.When I get called to do an estimate, how do I charge the customer. Do I charge per square foot or just charge a flat rate per each lawn.

2. There is a major complex opening up in my neighbor hood this fall. How do I go about putting a bid in. Since I am only 14 year old, I dont care about making lots and lots of money at the time. So should I bid low just to try and get the contract. And how to I put in a bid.

At 14 you have no legal ability to submit bids for comm'l jobs. Sorry.
Wait until you get old enough to sign contracts, carry insurance and understand business. Being low to get business not only hurts you now, but later on. How in 5 yrs when you need to be making an honest amount, do you plan to raise prices that you help to drive down?

Without historical data you will not be very accurate with SF pricing. Do it based on time you estimate it will take.

ya hoss is right i am only 19 and had to wait until last year to be able to do commercial and condo lawns, somethings come with age, yes iam still young but carry full insurance and can legally sign contracts, plus at your age it is much easier to do residential trust me i was there 5 years ago i remember
AK Lawn

i am not thinking thaT the 35 customers is true but prove me wrong whacker, and 35 on the way. if youj can get this many at fourteen then tell me your secret so i can get a few more, i want about 200 this season and am about 75 away
AK Lawn

Well it is true everybody; I do have 35 customers and am working on about 20-30 new ones. My secret to success is I met this guy a few years ago that was just getting in to the business of landscaping in Calgary.

All of a sudden when he started he made it big. I stayed in contact with him for a while now. And he gave me a call and some addresses to go check out, and see if I am willing to take them off his hands. So I did and now have 35 customers.

The 20-30 on the way comes from flyers that I had delivered a week ago.

For people that said I need to be legal age!!

I have talked with lawyers and such with my parents and have worked out all the contract and technical stuff with them. The company is in my parents name until I turn legal age. But I own the company legally, and am able to make all the decisions.

Coming from a person who has been in your situation i did most of the sam things and i did have around thirty clients when i was 14 but the business and everything along with it was in my dads name and that was the only way it was llegal, but things could be different in Canada not inthe US or Alaska for that matter. Anyways sorry to put you down best of luck in the up coming summers AK Lawn

No worry you did not put me down at all. As a teen i have been put down many times with my hair-Brain ideas. I tend not to get bothered by what other people say. For example, me going to get my bussiness bank account.

I am sure some have gone thru the same thing as me. Post your story if you have ....Thanxs